John & John Case

I. Problem: The major issue that Johnson& Johnson (J&J) faces with its face powder is that despite the product’s innovation, a toiletry design and confidence in potential customers, it positions its product line as a cheap skin refresher by using supermarkets as main distributing channels and setting the price range of product cheaper compared to that of competitors sold in department stores, which damages its brand and profits.In order to ensure that J&J makes a success in launching new brand category product with profits, it needs to develop a marketing strategy to make more profits by changing its distribution channels, the price range higher and targeted customers under the toiletry concept. II. Alternatives: ) Position as a premium refresher through department stores channels + Raise awareness of a new product as a premium brand by severing relation with baby powder + Higher margin and potential to raise prices above original margins + Successful upper and middle level cu stomers targeting with high value brand and synergy with J&J brand – High price and little difference with cosmetics may be unattractive to teen and young adults – Fierce Competition with current face powders sold (ex: Angel Face) in the department stores – Losing opportunity to use established strong distribution strength in supermarket channels ) Position as a premium refresh for both young female and adults through department stores + Enlarging market by targeting both teen and young adults and older female, including mothers + Less pressure from mother’s opposed to their daughter’s using cosmetic face powder from compacts + End user’s enhanced purchasing power resulting from targeting older females – Young customer’s alienation from the product due to their tendency not sharing with old generations – More designs and functions for satisfying different kinds of customers in terms of age – Unpromising forecast a bout current cosmetic user’s transition into new product category ) Position as a premium refresher for young adults through supermarket channels + Easy access to the product from potential customers + Differentiation from household items sold in the supermarkets due to high price and premium brand + Strong distribution power by usage of already established supermarket distribution channels – Difficulty in separating its image from grocery items in the supermarkets – Small profit margins compared to that of department stores – Huge advertising cost is unnecessary, unprofitable and ineffectiveIII. Recommendation: I suggest that J&J set a new product line as a premium refresher with higher price by distributing it through department stores. At first, the demand of targeted customers such as teens and young adults is already verified. In order to make more profit with this product, J&J needs to target the market segmentation more specific.Considering most po tential customers are young females living in urban areas with relative economic capability, more profit margin in department stores compared to supermarkets, and a marketing strategy under the toiletry concept, I recommend that J&J change its distribution channel into department store and set the price range higher than the current competitors in the market, thus resulting in more profit margin and boosting an image of brand new product as premium items among young adults-main target customers-in the Philippines.In addition, high end strategy will pave the way for launching J&J’s future youth lines such as body care product with high profit margin and providing high brand image with future customers to J&J’ baby products, not mention to more profit margin and enhanced J&J’s premium brand resulting from department stores distribution.

Competitors Essay

Introduction Section 1: Tesco core competencies come from its strong customer focused strategy which is made very clear on their website home page were it states, â€Å"We are a team of over 530,000 people in 12 markets dedicated to bringing the best value, choice and service to our millions of customers each week†.Hamel and Prahalad (1990) suggested that a core competency must meet the following criteria: †¢Customers should benefit †¢Competitors should find it difficult to imitate †¢Core competence can be transferred to many products and markets. In more recent years we have been able to utilize the use of the Tesco club card to reward the customer but most importantly at the same time we have been able to collect vital information which has enabled us to analyze and understand the customer so much better. A USP which Tesco have been able to gain from the use of the Club card is their ability to almost predict what each individual is going to put into their baskets and this subsequently allows them to adapt each of their from their services to their stock. This all contributes to Tesco adding value to the overall customer experience. In a large complex company like Tesco it can become important for the organization to define the company as a set of strategic business units (SBUs). The reason behind this is mainly because when businesses become large they generally are slow, awkward and unmanageable and so SBUs are put in place to prevent/reduce this. The SBU I am going to be focusing on throughout my report is Core UK, its he adquarters are in the UK and it takes care of the UK grocery operations. The grocery industry is still Tesco’s most important part of the business and is operating in a fiercely competitive market. Section 2 Tesco currently hold the largest share in the grocery market which is one of the most fiercely contested markets in the UK. The term marketing  environment is used to describe all of the elements that have some impact on the actual performance of a market, these elements can occur both in and outside of the market itself, they can be called the macro environment and the microenvironment. The marketing environment enables us to understand the different forces that have a certain influence on the marketplace and how the market will react to different forces in different ways. For Tesco the marketing environment has a huge influence on how well the business is doing annually, for example the macro environment is always changing which affects Tesco The table below shows what channels make up the UK grocery market in for 2013: ChannelShare in billions Hypermarkets and superstores £74.1 Small super markets £34.9 Convenience stores £35.6 Discounters £9.5 Online £6.5 Other retailers £9.2 The market environment is a term that is used to collectively identify all the elements that have some impact on the actual performance of a market. This includes events and factors that occur within the context of the market itself and also any elements that are based outside the market. The idea behind defining the market environment is to understand what forces are exerting some amount of influence in the marketplace and understand why and how a market reacts to those forces in certain ways. Importance of environmental analysis (Debate & Evaluate) -How can the marketing environment be defined? How can the marketing environment be defined to your company? -Can you summarise / synthesise information creatively in the form of tables / figures. -What are best practice approaches to environmental analysis? Here it may be tempting to go overboard and write very generically about environmental analysis but it is important to evaluate from the perspective of your chosen company: What is important in defining and approaching environmental analysis from the context of your company?

Last Child in the Woods Essay

In this article, Last Child in the Woods, Richard Louv describes the importance that children have the ability to grow up and experience as their parents did through the back seat of a car. Louv’s purpose is to compel parents to stop giving in to technological advances and to start persuading their children to embrace the world. He uses his personal experiences to convey his point of view and he uses short simple sentences. Throughout the essay he is a strong advocate when making sure children enjoy reality instead of living in this technological age. He most frequently uses short simple sentences. This brevity keeps the audience intrigued and keeps the flow of the piece going. In the article he says, â€Å"The highways edges may not be postcard perfect,† (47-48). Its simplicity makes its understandable to all ages, so it’s relatable by both parents and their children. Its effect on the audience is to try and persuade them to say no to all the technology for their children and to show them what the world has to offer. Louv uses personal experiences from childhood as his second rhetorical strategy. An example from the text is the entire last paragraph when he is talking about all the things he saw from the back seat of his car as a child. Here are a few things he said , â€Å"We saw birds on the wires and combines in the field.† and â€Å"We held our little plastic cars against the glass and [pretended that they, too, were racing towards some unknown destination.† He uses this as to play with the readers emotional side, ethos. The reason behind it is that by play with their emotions it will persuade them to believe that his principles are ethically correct. Louv concludes his article by stating how even though life in the back seat can be boring and mundane; it can also shape us into who we are today.

Architecture and Avant-garde Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Architecture and Avant-garde - Essay Example The notions of avant-garde architecture provided with an underpinning of modern architecture. The avant-garde architecture gave birth to a German association of architects, designers, and industrials Deutscher Werkbund, meaning German Work Federation, which later on proved to be a springboard for modern industrial architectural designs. Moreover, the notions of avant-garde architecture have now raised the bar for modern architecture. The formation of Deutscher Werkbund in 1907 lead the way to the creation of the Bauhaus school, also originated in Germany in 1919, themed on the rejection of history and viewed architecture as a synthesis of art, craft, and technology. The idea behind architectural avant-garde was to abolish the superseded architectural designs of pre-World War I era and espouse the designs which suit the post-war era and new economic order. Avant-garde architecture paradigm has influenced modern architects and their approach to building design. This has propounded arch itectural themes such as structuralism, post-structuralism, rationalism, empiricism, and phenomenology. Avant-garde approach of architecture relies heavily on reducing buildings to pure forms, removing historical references, and ornament in favor of functionalist details. The United States of American has seen one of its greatest modern (avant-garde) architects in the shape of Ieoh Ming Pei. The Chinese-born American architect is regarded as an icon in modern architectural designs. He is the recipient of the AIA Gold Medal.... Ieoh Ming Pei - American Avant-garde Architect The United States of American has seen one of its greatest modern (avant-garde) architects in the shape of Ieoh Ming Pei. The Chinese-born American architect is regarded as an icon in modern architectural designs. He is the recipient of the AIA Gold Medal, the Alpha Rho Chi Medal, the MIT Traveling Fellowship, and the Wheelwright Traveling Fellowship. Pei is deemed as an expert in the use of steel, grass, concrete, and stone for designing skyscrapers and modern business complexes (I. M. Pei Biography, Bio and Profile from Netglimse.com). The Pritzker Prize-winning (Pritzker Prize: architecture's equivalent of the Pulitzer) architect went to Saint John's University, Shanghai before attending University of Pennsylvania at the age of 18. He completed Bachelor of Architecture from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1940 and was also a member of National Defense Research Committee. He was also trained at the Harvard Graduate School of Design (Official biography from Pei Cobb Freed & Partners website). During the late 1940's Pei joined Webb and Knapp as a Director of Architecture. He worked on many large-scale real estate development projects. Later on, in mid-1950's, Pei started his own real estate development enterprise. Ieoh Pei became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1954. During his more than 60-year long career as a modernist architect, Ieoh Pei designed some of the greatest models of modern architectures. They include: National Center for Atmospheric Research, Colorado; Government Center Master Plan, Boston, Massachusetts; Society Hill Towers, Philadelphia, PA; 50 FAA air traffic control towers, in various locations throughout the US; National Airlines terminal at JFK

Assignment #1 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Assignment #1 - Coursework Example The citizens enjoy several rights and freedoms but in the enjoyment of such, the people have a responsibility of ensuring that they do not hurt others. Courts therefore determine the aggrieved party and punishing the guilty party appropriately. In order to do this effectively, courts must maintain high ethical standards. The American government ensures that by developing an independent judiciary. By eliminating interference from the other two arms of the government, the judiciary enjoys the autonomy to make rulings depending on their interpretation of the law and the available evidence. Judges and prosecutors among other parties in the judiciary On the other hand must uphold high ethical standards, operate with the view of providing justice and uphold the constitutionalism in the governance of the country. The courts should provide amicable solutions to conflicts that arise in different spheres including commercial sectors among many others within the country (Halbrook, 1998). Cine should not answer the interrogations, answering the interrogations is tantamount to the party providing incriminating evidence against him or her. The Miranda rights for example is a statement that law enforcer read to suspects warning them not to talk since whatever they say is used in incriminating them in a court of law. This implies that the constitution recognizes the fact that one should not incriminate himself or herself. The prosecutor must carry out independent investigations and determine his or her own original evidence. Compelling Cine Forty Theater Group to answer the interrogations is forcing the party incriminate itself, it thus becomes appropriate for the company to reserve its thoughts on the case and use such during the court proceeding in defending itself thereby proving the other party liable. Legal proceedings have effective legislations governing the operations and actions of each party conjoined in a court case. Contempt of court is a

The Way we really are Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Way we really are - Essay Example the publication of her previous book coinciding with the 1992 United States presidential election campaign that publicised debates about traditional American family values and the alleged decline of those values with associated declines in public and private behavior standards. Coontz was concerned that the conservatives within the Republican Party were making untrue claims that the decline of traditional family values was detrimental to American society and has harmful social, economic, and political consequences.1 Stephanie Coontz seemed to echo the opinions of many that believed the myth of traditional American family values underpinning traditional nuclear families was generally an unfounded fiction. The primary theme of ‘The Way We Never were: American families and the Nostalgia Trap’ was the argument that the idea that the traditional nuclear family was the main form of social unit that was not as prevalent as some argued. The conservative politicians and fundament alist religious groups spread such myths, as they would like the American public to believe. The Way We Never Were was very successful in making that point as well as being another example of Coontz’s ability to examine and evaluate American social history besides making valid arguments about contemporary American society. This book brought Coontz critical acclaim as well as increased book sales.2 The Way we Really are is a book that Stephanie Coontz intended to use to describe and examine the reality of family life in contemporary American society rather than describing American social history as her previous books had done so well. The Way we Really are was a change of approach and perspective that had commenced with The Way We Never Were.3 Coontz’s changes in approach and perspective were mainly in response to intensified public and political debates concerning changes to family lives in American society in the past, the present, and indeed in the future.4 To classify it in

Case Study in Managerial Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Case Study in Managerial Accounting - Essay Example The cost endor being placed at $5.50 is referred to as the variable cost since it is believed to be the market cost though it tends to vary depending on the market situations. The $5.75 is referred to as the period cost since used for accounting purposes to record the actual expense to be incurred when the product is purchased The $14,000 that Alderon received from Solo Industries is referred to as fixed price that Solo Industries fixed for the tatooine. The $20,000 that Alderon paid is referred to as the product cost since Aalderon actually incurred the cost and it was used for accounting purposes.10If the tatooine was purchased today by Alderon, then it would cost $11.00 which is therefore referred to as the market price. The $1,000 is referred to as indirect labor cost as the price cannot be directly traced back to the product. The $10,000 that would have been a donation of each of the 10 percent viewers of the wildlife show is an opportunity cost as the best forgone alternative. The $5000 is referred to as the outlay cost as it would be the future cash flow. The $25,000 is the revenue cost likely to be collected once the wildlife show is sold to another television show. The wildlife show has a smaller viewing percentage but have high income of $10000Ãâ€"10=$100,000 as compared to the manufacturing show with a big viewing percentage but low income of $5000Ãâ€"15=$75000. It is therefore of significance to show wildlife as opposed to manufacturing

Utilization research for congestive heart failure education program Proposal

Utilization for congestive heart failure education program - Research Proposal Example Different intervention strategies have been identified that can help in management and treatment of the CHF. Although different interventional strategies exist, there seems to be increase in readmission, and numbers of CHF continue to go up. This calls for identification and innovation of more suitable intervention strategies that give appropriate results. In this perspective, educational interventional strategies have been identified as the primary strategies that can be used to reduce prevalence of CHF. With education, patients, together with stakeholders involved, are likely to acquire knowledge, skills, tools, and experiences that in long-term are likely to be beneficial in promoting awareness of CHF, hence contributing to management. This research proposal provides for educational interventional strategy and explores the effectiveness of the strategy. In addition, planning, implementation, evaluation, and decision-making processes are evaluated and analyzed, hence their efficacy in contributing to success of educational programs. On overall, for educational programs to promote awareness about CHF, the research proposes for adoption of integrated educational interventional strategy that also facilitates consultation and participation. These aspects make educational interventional strategy appear as the most efficient way of addressing the rising cases of CHF. Utilization Research for Congestive Heart Failure Education Program Background Cases of the heart failing to perform effectively have become more prevalent and pronounced in the modern world. As a result, a medical condition known as heart failure, which is believed to affect many people in USA, has emerged (Heart Failure Society of America, 2011). Heart failure (HF) is today viewed to be an important public health issue that faces the health care system. Heart failure, popularly known as the congestive heart failure (CHF), can be described as a condition where the sufferer is unable to experience sufficient blood flow in the heart, which in turn makes it difficult to meet the physiological needs of the body (Chen and Zieve, 2011). Causes of heart failure are myriad but can be connected to issues of lifestyle and dietary, as well as medications. Although the prevalence of heart failure problems are today more pronounced in the society, it has been observed that majority of people wh o have been affected by the disease are still unaware of the condition (Heart Failure Society of America, 2011). This has largely been associated with lack of knowledge many sufferers have, where symptoms associated with the disease are mistaken for normal signs of advancing in the age (Heart Failure Society of America, 2011). For instance, HF is associated with signs like feeling tired and experiencing frequent short breath, which majority of older patients may think constitutes signs of their advancing age. Therefore, this calls for effective diagnosis, which will help in determining the disease in an individual and subsequently being able to determine the course of treatment and management of the disease. The prevalence of the disease is more pronounced in the modern world, and this has led to accelerated efforts aimed at identifying the best methods that can be used to treat and manage the medical condition. Problem Identification By the

NAEYC article assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

NAEYC article assignment - Essay Example The United States is a diverse country and an early education centre is likely to have many children with different linguistic backgrounds. The inability of early child educators to speak all the home languages of children makes it difficult to preserve those languages. The lack of programs focusing on instilling early educators with relevant languages makes it impossible for the teachers to respond appropriately to the call of preserving home languages of children. The design of early education program still makes it a huge challenge for early educators to meet the needs of children and families in terms of linguistic and cultural diversity. Early childhood programs are basically designed with the main language as English, which does not reflect the diverse nature of the American population. The implementation of the NAEYC recommendations requires complete dedication of the early childhood educator. As such I will actively engage with parents and strive to gain knowledge about all the children in order to ensure that each child is served better. I will ensure coherent working relationship with parents in order to ensure that I provide quality care and education for every child under my

On Berkeley’s Concept of God and Heinous Sins Essay Example for Free

On Berkeley’s Concept of God and Heinous Sins Essay It is a misconstrual in positing that George Berkeley’s axiom that God being the author of ideas is responsible for all heinous crimes. And worst, claiming that such postulate of Berkeley is the loophole in his argument and philosophical treatise is reading his philosophic stance superficially. Relying on a version of the argument from design, Berkeley concluded that our ‘ideas’ are produced in our minds by the will of God acting directly. So God, whom we may safely assume to act (in Berkeleys estimation) in full knowledge of what he is doing, must himself have all the ideas which he generates in human minds, as well as those which he would generate, if the right human acts of will occurred to make them appropriate. And for Berkeley, this would amount to saying that God perceives the whole of physical reality, since physical reality simply is a certain infinitely complex constellation of ideas, and having them before ones consciousness is perceiving it. That would be, in itself, a welcome conclusion, when we perceive the physical world, what we do is just the same as what God does when he perceives it; all that happens in either case is that a mind has certain perceptions, nothing more, and so the human mind can be just as sure of what it perceives as is the divine mind of what it perceives. But it does not necessarily follow that he is the author of evil because as Berkeley defined sin, it is the manifestation of the spirit’s will, meaning it is not something that is innate to the motion of its body or God’s design (Berkeley 1988). Thus when ethical issues or moral conflict arises, it is not necessary to blame for the transpiration of events. For example, the espousal of capital punishment is not authored by God, but it was the product of human will and faculty. The problem is, when humanity cannot explain things, they tend to account it to God. Unfortunately, they forget that there is no necessary connection between cause and effect, and they failed to realize that heinous sins such as adultery, murder and sacrilege are not will of God but of ours.

Impacts on Quality of Life Among School Children

Impacts on Quality of Life Among School Children PAVITRA A/P INDRAJOTHY INTRODUCTION It is the truth to say that children are our future and if that is true, more time and energy should be put into the beginning stages of each childs life. The early years of a child’s life are the most important in terms of their general well being, their emotional and social development, and their physical, intellectual and emotional growth. Children develop at different paces and a very high proportion of what they learn takes place in the first five to seven years of life. What happens in the home is extremely important to development in early childhood. There are things that can and should be done to help each child live a life that is productive and beneficial to those that they will interact with in their future. There are many aspects in todays world that make the quality of life of school children better and meaningful. For instance of aspects that can affect quality of life are obesity, bullying, lifestyle, emotional problems, divorce, socio cultural home environment, child abuse, oral health and back pain. First and foremost, there are reports saying that obese children demonstrate more negative self-perceptions, decreased self-worth, increased behavioural problems, lower self-esteem and lower body esteem and perceived cognitive ability. However, because of methodological limitations, definitions of obesity that differ with current recommendations and with non-validated measurements of health related quality of life, it is difficult to generalize the conclusions of these studies (Friedlander et al., 2003). According to research done by Nathan Woon in year 1981, Peninsular Malaysia is a multi-racial country of 12 million people, 41% of whom are less than 14 years of age (Vital Statistics Peninsular Malaysia 1975-Department of Statistics, Malaysia). The population consists of three main ethnic groups: the Malays (53%), the Chinese (35%) and the Indians (11%) (Vital Statistics, Peninsular Malaysia, 1975). Whilst in recent years, there has been an increasing tendency for the various ethnic groups to intermingle and to respect and understand the various cultures and traditions that coexist within the country, in the specific area of child rearing, as with marriages, deep-rooted traditions and customs continue to remain a crucial factor and probably contribute, to some extent, to the pattern and incidence of child abuse in the various races. Bullying has been conceptualized globally as acting in any way that threatens or hurts someone less powerful. Furthermore, bullying also can be distinguished among the different way in which aggressive acts are performed. There are different types of bullying which is physical, verbal, or indirect bullying. Furthermore, distinctions among aggressor’s possible aims can also be made. For instance, bullying physically to hurt the victim or for damage the victim’s relationship with others (Rigby, 2003). Next, parental separation is usually the first major and drastic change in a child’s life. This distressing event drastically alters the family’s future, bringing to a sense of loss due to interference in daily routines as well as absence of daily contact with both parents (Eymann et al., 2009). Lastly, obesity, dental caries and periodontal diseases are among major public health concerns which may affect children’s growth and development. Sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy eating habits could lead to poor oral hygiene statuses and increase the tendency to develop periodontitis and obesity at young ages (Anand et al., 2014). DISCUSSION OBESITY Worldwide estimates of childhood obesity are as high as 43 million, and rates continue to increase each year. Childhood obesity is a growing problem in the present era and it causes serious consequences in the later years (Anand et al., 2014). According to Friedlander et al., childhood obesity is a major public health problem with increasing prevalence; approximately 30% of US school-aged children are defined as overweight or at risk for overweight. Anand and Friedlander states that overweight children are more likely to suffer from a range of chronic health problem such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, sleep apnoea and asthma. They also concluded that children who are overweight are more likely to become overweight adults. There was a study conducted by Friedlander et al. among 371 students aged 8-10 years old excluding those who had sleep apnoea or who were born prematurely. Based on BMI categories of the study, 17.5% of the children were overweight, 12.4% were at risk for overweight, 8.1% were underweight, and 62.0% were of normal weight. Moreover, children who are overweight have a 2 to 4 times increased odds of having low scores for physiological health, self-esteem, and physical functioning. Similarly, children who are at risk for being overweight have higher odds of having low physical functioning scores. Furthermore, lower self-esteem also was observed in children who are underweight. Children with higher BMIs are more likely than normal weight children to be perceived by their parents as having feelings of anxiety and depression, of exhibiting aggressive or immature behaviour, as having role limitations in their schoolwork and social activities, and as having low self-esteem. And, their parents also report higher levels of emotional distress and little personal time because of their children’s health or behaviour (Friedlander et al., 2003). As a suggestion, if the child or teenager is overweight, further weight gain can be prevented. Parents can help their children in maintaining their weights in the healthy range. In infancy, breastfeeding and delaying introduction of solid foods may help in preventing obesity. In early childhood, children should be given healthy, low-fat snacks and they should be allowed to take part in moderate-vigorous physical activity every day. Older children can be taught to select healthy, nutritious foods and to develop good exercise habits (Anand et al., 2014). BULLYING Bullying invariably involve an imbalance of power in which the aggressor is more powerful than the victim. Moreover, bullying occurs when there is conflict between people of unequally power (Rigby, 2003). As identified by Rigby in year 2003, four categories of negative health conditions are low psychological well-being, poor social adjustment, psychological distress and physical unwellness. Low psychological well-being includes states of mind that are generally considered unpleasant but not acutely distressing, such as general unhappiness, low self-esteem, and feelings of anger and sadness. Next, poor social adjustment normally includes feeling of loathing toward one’s social environment, evident through expressed dislike for workplace or school, manifest loneliness, segregation and absenteeism. Moreover, psychological distress is considered more serious than the low psychological well-being and poor social adjustment categories and comprises high levels of depression, anxiety and suicidal thinking. Last but not least, physical unwellness can determine by precise signs of physical disorder, evident in medically diagnosed illness. Furthermore, psychosomatic symptoms also can be incorporated in this category. Various strategies or treatment should be considered and give a thought to reduce the chances of a child’s further severe involvement in bullying that can worsen the child’s condition. The approach include helping victimized children to evolve self-protective assertiveness skills and working therapeutically with bullying children to create a greater awareness of the repercussion of their antisocial behaviour (Rigby, 2003). LIFESTYLE Television is still the most widely-viewed screen worldwide. Globally, people are spending more time sitting at work and at home, and there’s mounting evidence that this â€Å"sit time† is a major contributor to the obesity epidemic. Sedentary activities not only TV watching, but also working at desk jobs, using computers, playing video games and driving cars. Increasingly, there’s evidence that watching TV and, especially, watching junk food ads on TV promotes obesity by changing mainly as to what and how much people eat (Anand et al., 2014). Too much television viewing among children has been linked with inadequate study patterns. Inappropriate television-viewing has been linked to erratic sleep/wake schedules and poor sleep quality, violent or aggressive behaviour, substance use, sexual activity resulting in decreased school performance or even school drop-out (Karande Kulkarni, 2005). EMOTIONAL PROBLEMS Conditions which cause emotional problems in children such as chronic neglect, sexual abuse, parents getting divorced or losing a sibling might cause long term distress resulting in academic underachievement. Besides that, children can face severe emotional upheavals during the treatment of chronic health impairments such as asthma, cancer, cerebral palsy, congenital heart disease, diabetes mellitus, epilepsy, hemophilia, rheumatic diseases, or thallasemia, resulting in low self-esteem and loss of motivation to study (Karande Kulkarni, 2005). As recommended by Karande Kulkarni in year 2005, children with emotional problems need counselling sessions with a child psychologist or a child psychiatrist. Depending on the severity, at times, appropriate medications (anxiolytics, antidepressants) may be needed. DIVORCE As emphasizes by Eymann et al. in year 2009, divorce is becoming increasingly common in our society, seriously affecting all parties involved, especially children. There were studies conducted in USA and in Europe and roughly calculated that 30 to 50% of children will suffer the effect from a divorce, almost same rates have been reported in Argentina. Eymann et al. conducted a study at the Hospital Italiano, Argentina. A total of 330 families were invited to take part and only 313 completed the questionnaire; 160 from married family and 153 from divorced family. They defined divorced family (DF) as parents who choose to stay at separate residence regardless of legal marital status while married family (MF) as parents who choose to share residence with their children regardless of legal marital status. The aim of this study was to evaluate psychological quality of life among school aged children of divorced parents by using Child Health Questionnaire – Parent Form 50 (CHQ-PF 50). The results showed that CHQ-PF 50 scores were higher in children of MF than in those of DF for various domains, such as self-esteem, time impact on family, mental health, behaviour, social-emotional functioning and behaviour, and lastly the psychosocial summary score joining all these factors. As proved in the results, boys had poorer psychosocial quality of life than girls. This was explained perhaps by the effects of less daily father-child connection on gender-specific identity traits. Furthermore, it is well known that separated mothers who have legal child custody usually suffer a greater slope in their standard of living. Norton Glick and Duncan et al. have clearly proved the unfavourable economic repercussion of divorce on child well-being. In this study, maternal remarriage didn’t appear to influence quality of life of child. Maternal remarriage could impact children who must readapt to new family basis and dynamics. However, a new partner perhaps could provide additional financial support since parental separation usually involves a fall in family income. Moreover, the new couple may construct an improved marital relationship, hence could minimize the distressing emotional burden on children and making the stepfather as a positive and ideal role model (Eymann et al., 2009). Lastly, in this study, separation by mutual agreement because of higher maternal education or maternal university education level and longer the length of time passed since separation has inclined psychosocial quality of life scores, while scores declined in boys and for each one-year increment of maternal age. Eymann et al. proves that higher maternal educational level could give positive impact on psychosocial quality of life, which may be explained as a consequence of the skills build through education years, allowing better and organized control of the marital problems and crisis and greater agreement on conflict issues (Eymann et al., 2009). CHILD ABUSE A prospective study was made of all cases of child abuse seen at the University Hospital, between July 1978 and June 1980. A total of 19 cases, 16 of physical and 3 of sexual abuse were diagnosed during this period. The relatively high (32%) incidence of child abuse amongst Malay families was quite surprised, as Malay children are generally much loved and pampered. Nathan and Woon suspect that the increasing incidence of child abuse amongst the Malays is probably related to their urban migration in recent years with the resultant breakdown of the extended family system and the need to cope with the pressures of life in an unfamiliar urban setting (Nathan Woon, 1981). The commonest injuries found on admission were bruises and injuries to the face and scalp. The majority of the abusers in our series were parents, the ratio of father to mother being. Both social and personal factors in the life of the abuser seem to contribute to the act of child abuse. Marital disharmony appears to feature prominently amongst the interpersonal problems, while two abusers gave a history of having been abused physically during their early childhood (Nathan Woon, 1981). SOCIOCULTURAL HOME ENVIRONMENT It has been recognized that children from poor socioeconomic status families have higher chances of poor school performance. Malnutrition due to poverty coupled with low education and status of parents adversely affect their cognitive development. Such children also have higher chances of experiencing, right from their pre-school years, parental attitudes which do not motivate them to study and an unsatisfactory home environment which does not encourage learning (witnessing domestic violence, family stressors, and adverse life events). Alleviation of hunger, by providing one balanced meal in school is one of the mechanisms to improve academic achievement in undernourished low-income elementary school children (Karande Kulkarni, 2005). Besides that, many of these disadvantaged children are studying in English medium schools as their parents believe that this would help them progress in life. These children face the added burden of language barrier, namely, they are not conversant in English as they came from non-English speaking families, which leads to poor school performance or even school failure. Parents of children with language barrier should be counselled to educate their children in their own language medium schools or to attend a facility for language stimulation if that is available and affordable (Karande Kulkarni, 2005). ORAL HEALTH In the research carried out by Anand et al. in year 2014, they noticed that poor oral hygiene statuses in children who spent more time watching television, playing video games, as their consumption of soft drinks and fast foods was more and due to lack of adequate exercise. BACK PAIN Musculoskeletal pain is exceedingly common in young adults. A questionnaire survey was carried out by Brattberg in year 1994 among children 8, 11, 13 and 17 years old. The prevalence of back pain and headaches among 1,245 Swedish school children was studied. 29% of the students reported back pain and 48% headache. In all age groups studied, both back pain and headaches were more common among girls than boys. Girls also reported more frequent symptoms than boys (Brattberg, 1994). CONCLUSION Children who are at risk for or who are overweight having odds 2 to 4 times greater for lower health related quality of life scores for physiological health, self esteem and physical functioning. Parents of children who are overweight also were more likely to evidence higher levels of emotional distress because of their children’s health. Being relatively underweight also was associated with lower self-esteem (Friedlander et al., 2003). Ken Rigby in year 2003 concluded that being victimized by peers is notably related to relatively low levels of psychological well-being and social adjustment and lastly to high levels of psychological distress and unfavourable physical health symptoms. Eymann et al. in year 2009 concluded that children’s psychosocial quality of life was affected by divorce. Psychosocial quality of life improved when parents had divorced by mutual agreement, the mother had a university education, when more time had elapsed since separation and was poorer in boys and in children of older mothers. And, quality of life can be improved as more time elapses after the divorce, this is because may be it can be interpreted as a process of accepting the family modification. And lastly, poor oral hygiene was observed in children who spent more time in leisure activities and that lifestyle factors could make an impact on oral hygiene and periodontal health. A need exists for addressing obesity, oral health and nutrition, jointly in health promotion strategies, to improve well-being of children and also to empower good life-style factors (Anand et al., 2014).

The Power Struggle in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart Essay examples

The Power Struggle in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart is a powerful novel about the social changes that occurred when the white man first arrived on the African continent. The novel is based on a conception of humans as self-reflexive beings and a definition of culture as a set of control mechanisms. Things Fall Apart is the story of Okonkwo, an elder, in the Igbo tribe. He is a fairly successful man who earned the respect of the tribal elders. The story of Okonkwo’s fall from a respected member of the tribe to an outcast who dies in disgrace graphically dramatizes the struggle between the altruistic values of Christianity and the lust for power that motivated European colonialism in Africa and undermined the indigenous culture of a nation. Okonkwo's father was laughed at by the villagers, and was considered a failure. However, this was not true of Okonkwo, who lived in a modest home. Okonkwo's prosperity was visible in his household. He had a large compound enclosed by a thick wall of red earth. His own hut, or obi, stood immediately behind the only gate in the red walls. Each of his three wives had their own hut, which together formed a half moon behind the obi. The barn was built against one end of the red walls, and long stacks of yams stood out prosperously in it. Unfortunately, the clash of the cultures that occurs when the white man's missionaries come to Africa in an attempt to convert the tribal members, causes Okonkwo to lash out at the white man and results in his banishment from the tribe. Okonkwo had a bad temper which he often displayed: Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives, especially the youngest, lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper, and so did his little children. Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear of failure and of weakness. The cracks within Okonkwo's character are not so much external as internal, manifestations of those aspects of his being that have been his greatest strengths: acting without thinking; never showing any emotion besides anger; inflexibility; fear of being perceived as weak and, therefore, womanly. Slowly, these characteristics that have served Okonkwo so well in the past, begin to alter the direction of his life. The first such incident occurs when Okonkwo accidentally breaks the W... ...s return to Umuofia at the end of his exile when he returns home. The white men send their a messenger to the village. Okonkwo is still enraged about Nwoye's conversion. He sprang to his feet as soon as he saw who it was. He confronted the head messenger, trembling with hate, unable to utter a word. The man was fearless and stood his ground, his four men lined up behind him. â€Å"In a flash Okonkwo drew his machete. . . . Okonkwo’s machete descended twice and the man's head lay beside his uniformed body† (204). In the end it is Okonkwo’s inability to recognize change that forces him to commit suicide. It is the white missionaries’ inability to recognize that the Africans did not wish to change which adds to his demise. The missionaries represent the ruthlessness of the white man in Africa. The native Africans were expected to accept the ways of the white culture, for their own benefit, or suffer the consequences. In this light the missionaries can only be seen as brutal, and anything but true Christians, but rather religious zealots who like Okonkwo wish to force their world view upon others. Works Cited Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York: Anchor Books, 1959.

What is Patriotism? :: essays research papers

What is patriotism? Merriam-Webster defines patriotism as love for or devotion to one's country. â€Å"I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually,† James Baldwin. â€Å"The notion that a radical is one who hates his country is naà ¯ve and usually idiotic. He is, more likely, one who likes his country more than the rest of us, and is thus more disturbed than the rest of us when he sees it debauched. He is not a bad citizen turning to crime; he is a good citizen driven to despair.† H. L. Mencken. What these quotes mean to me is that if some one really loves their country, they will try their best to change that which is wrong, not to be blindly led and follow what people before them have done. At nine-eleven the whole country just all of the sudden turned patriotic. Almost everyone had a flag of some type of solute to our country. It’s sad that such a tragedy is needed to make a country come together. Nine-eleven was just about four years ago, now four years later; the country has already regressed to its state before nine-eleven. What did all of those people die for? Was it to stop terrorism? Well if it was it obviously didn’t work. There are still terrorists. It was used by Bush as an excuse to finish the war his father couldn’t. What are veterans? Merriam-Webster defines veterans as an old soldier of long service: a former member of the armed forces. â€Å"And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man,† the most famous quote from John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address. To me this quote represents the idea of being a veteran, you give up your whole life to serve the cause of you’re country not you’re own.

Airline Industry Essay -- Transportation, Commercial Aviation

One of the world’s most competitive and prominent industries is the airlines industry. It generates huge amounts of income as well as employment each year. Some of the common names in US air travel service providers are Alaska, Northwest, Southwest, US airways, American etc. According to the latest statistics given by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the airline sector will post a profit of $9 billion in 2011. After the recent credit crunch, economies are now coming back to normal, business travel is increasing and investments in the airlines are now rising. Political/Legal influences Privatization Over the years airlines have undergone large-scale privatization; previously a significant portion of airlines industry was government-owned. Privatizing the industry has led to drastic increase in the number of air service providers and the airline travellers. Legal provision Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) was established to control the activities of the commercial Airline industry; it used to set the rates and even the mergers in the industry till the first forty years after its establishment. Then Airline Deregulation Act 1978 was adopted to make the industry more efficient and privately owned. This act removed the powers of CAB, subsequently CAB was wound up in 1984. This act still gives the authority of regulating air safety to government through Federal Aviation Administration. All airlines need to have 2 certificates: 1. Fitness certificate (issued by Department Of Transportation): To ensure the airline is financially and management-wise strong enough to carry on the services adequately. 2. Operating certificate (issued by Federal Aviation Administration): To ensure that the airline maintains it cre... ...er before. Manufacturers of large aircrafts are conducting large scale outsourcing of key components especially from japanese manufacturers. Better communication Over the years, airlines have introduced new ways of adding value to the firm, for instance online reservation system and forwarding information to the system have opened new avenues to reach customers. (Lars Perner, 2007). Improvements in air-traffic management are also being implemented to ensure flight safety and cordination among aircrafts and various aviation companies (Capoccitti, Khare, & Mildenberger, 2010 ). The role of research in military technology has contributed a lot to the commercial jets (Collopy, 2004). The commercial airline industry has gone way ahead than the military aircraft industry, due to its public outreach. However the technology in military aircrafts is still way ahead.

Economics Book Critique Essay

Paul Rubin began his preface by stating that tabula rasa should no longer be viewed as something credible. Rubin maintained his conclusion that evolutionary biology would eventually be the foundation of all social sciences. He maintained that the fundamental taste for liberty is a genetic legacy from the hunter-gatherer bands in the history of mankind. He stated, â€Å"I reach a surprising conclusion: modern western nations, and particularly the United States, are the most effective societies for satisfying our evolved political preferences† (Paul, p. x) Rubin’s attitude’s towards liberty is the one which cost me a great deal of apprehension, in spite of the fact that it is not brought up much in the book. Although I enjoyed reading the book, the fact that so little has been said regarding freedom, I believe, ought to be a cause of serious apprehension. In regard of the contended predominance of Rubin’s concentration on the biological foundation which lies beneath the current state of human liberty, he should have considered beginning with animal freedom as articulated by, say, Pavlov on the â€Å"freedom-reflexes†. The foundation of Rubin’s opinion appears to be a firm certainty that human control and freedom are polar opposites. In fact on his Preface he claimed that when he began the research he was still a libertarian and thus he does not understand much of government’s constant rules regarding human behavior. He stated, â€Å"I have not used evolutionary analysis to prove points in which I already believed† (Paul, p. xv). I was quite bewildered upon reading this remark especially since his declarations seems to exhibit an absolute lack of understanding regarding the vital social control as well as counter-control procedures. It also showed a black void of nearly enormous quantities in awareness of the huge body of literature which could be dated back from the founders of civilization. Rubin feelingly asserted â€Å"There are substantial benefits from limiting government power and great dangers from allowing it to increase. It is, therefore, a puzzle, to explain why so many seek to increase the power of government† (Paul, p. 134). His statement seems to be a little naive. Rubin admitted that most normal individual’s desires governments to do pretty much more than defend them from dishonest dealers, banks, and the like. Most citizens knows the danger of the profound corruption from financial organizations and this is the reason why it is not really much a â€Å"puzzle† why they want to increase government power. The same could be said with the world’s third world countries with weak economies. They look for international kind of government in order for the mistreatment of other advanced countries to be limited if not stopped altogether. The book Professor Rubin wrote is interesting in spite of the fact that I do not agree much with the things he mentioned there particularly on the issue of freedom. Professor Rubin’s, Professor of Economics, attitude towards society and liberty appears to intentionally shun the standard control terminology. He talks a great deal of power, and acquiescence in separate terms of dominant, counter dominant, and the like instead of using the standard terms such as social control and counter control. There are no discussions regarding socialization, customs, introjections of values, punishments, and the like. Overall, I view Professor Rubin’s work to be stimulating particularly because he have some unique views of his own which made me think mentally and allowed me to exercise my faculty of reason. Although I do not agree much with the things he claims, I could still say that his book was an interesting read as well as thought provoking and for these reasons I recommend this book to everyone.

Discipline, Suspension & Termination

Terminating is not anything to lose sleep over nor is it a rocket science if you have done your job. There are many reasons behind termination of an employee for example theft, gross insubordination, and severe economic difficulties. When an organization let’s some one go because of their poor performance, they tend to avoid the situation as long as they can. When finally they do talk to the individual after agonizing endlessly ultimately deliver the bad news. In the end even the organization’s management feels guilty and angry and so is the employee all angry and confused.In my opinion, the organization handled the situation in a very unprofessional manner. As even the vice president did not even bother to comment on the case of Peter Oiler. The right procedure was to sit and discuss with the employee first, as he was an hard working individual who did his job thoroughly, but it was due to his misconduct after work for which he was terminated. And this led to job insec urity among the other employees of the organization, because now they would think that if they can terminate san employee so easily, it might be their turn next.The organization did win in the court of law but they did lose in the court of public and employee opinion. But, then again the organization did stick to its decision of terminating the employee and they followed through it even though they had no support of the public or the employees. The organization should have had a proper disciplinary policy, clearly stating the off duty behaviour that can lead to termination, this would have definitely made their decision easier and also would have helped them in court.The employee should always be given a second chance and if they still don’t improve or don’t change their behavior then the organization has the right to terminate an employee. But all employees of the organization should be provided with a copy of the disciplinary policy which includes the on duty and off duty behaviour and if they act against it the organization definitely has all the right to terminate the employee. Not only should appropriate steps be taken during the course of termination, but before and after as well.Make sure the employee is being terminated for the right reasons. The reasons for terminating an employee must always be legally defensible one. For example if an employee’s job performance is sub-par or they have engaged in improper behavior, a termination decision would be legitimate. As long as the organization has documentation to support their decision, they are in the clear. Secondly, before discharging an employee make sure that the organization has fully documented their history of poor performance or conduct.This will help in defending legal claims easier. An organization should always consider the alternatives to termination. In some cases of course termination is necessary, but if work quality issues, work relationships, or outside personal proble ms appear to be the source of an employee’s poor performance or misconduct considers alternatives such as reassignment or counseling. It is never easy to decide what to do in matters which involve off duty conduct. There is no right or wrong answer for that.What HR can provide is fair policies that should be strictly followed. Although terminating an employee is an unpleasant task, not to mention tricky, following the few guidelines listed above will definitely help to simplify the process and defend the organization from any legal liability. Putting some extra effort and thought into the decision, as well as indoctrinating your managers with proper termination procedures, will go a long way in ensuring that the termination procedure goes efficiently.

Advantages of Communication in Today’s Life

Ted Childs, IBM’s vice president of global workforce diversity, knows from years of experience that communicating successfully across cultures is no simple task, however—particularly in a company that employs more than 325,000 people and sells to customers in roughly 175 countries around the world. Language alone presents a formidable barrier to communication when you consider that IBM’s workforce speaks more than 165 languages, but language is just one of many elements that play a role in communication between cultures.Differences in age, ethnic background, gender, sexual orientation, physical ability, and economic status can all affect the communication process. Childs recognizes that these differences represent both a challenge and an oopportunity, and a key part of his job is helping IBM executives and employees work together in a way that transforms their cultural differences into a critical business strength. As he Ted Childs oversees IBM’s efforts t o build competitive advantage by capitalizing on the benefits of a diverse workforce. 64WORLD IBM’s experience (profiled in the chapter-opening Communication Close-Up) illustrates both the challenges and the opportunities for business professionals who know how to communicate with diverse audiences. Although the concept is often framed in terms of ethnic background, a broader and more useful definition of diversity â€Å"includes all the characteristics and experiences that define each of us as individuals. †2 As you’ll learn in this chapter, these characteristics and experiences can have a profound effect on the way businesspeople communicate.To a large degree, these effects on communication are the result of fundamental differences between cultures. Intercultural communication is the process of sending and receiving messages between people whose cultural background could lead them to interpret verbal and nonverbal signs differently. Every attempt to send and r eceive messages is influenced by culture, so to communicate successfully, you’ll need a basic grasp of the cultural differences you may encounter and how you should handle them.Your efforts to recognize and surmount cultural differences will open up business opportunities tthroughout the world and maximize the contribution of all the employees in a diverse workforce. The Opportunities in a Global Marketplace You will communicate with people from other cultures tthroughout your career. You might be a business manager looking for new customers or new sources of labor. Or you might be an employee looking for new work opportunities. Either way, chances are good that you’ll be looking across international borders sometime in your career.Thousands of U. S. businesses depend on exports for significant portions of their revenues. Every year, these companies export roughly $700 billion in materials and merchandise, along with billions more in personal and professional services. If you work in one of these companies, you may well be called on to visit or at least communicate with a wide vvariety of people who speak languages other than English and who live in cultures quite different from what you’re used to (see Figure 3. 1).Of the top ten export markets for U. S. products, only three (Canada, Great Britain, and Singapore) speak English as an official language, and two of those three (Canada and Singapore) have more than one official language. 3 In the global marketplace, most natural boundaries and national borders are no longer the impassable barriers they once were. Domestic markets are opening to worldwide competition as businesses of all sizes look for new growth opportunities outside their own countries.For example, automotive giant Ford markets to customers in some 130 countries, providing websites that offer local information, usually in the local language. 4 The diversity of today’s workforce brings distinct advantages to businesses : †¢ A broader range of views and ideas †¢ A better understanding of diverse, fragmented markets †¢ A broader pool of talent from which to recruit The Advantages of a Diverse Workforce Even if you never visit another country or transact business on a global scale, you will interact with colleagues from a vvariety of cultures with a wide range of characteristics and life experiences.Over the past few decades, many innovative companies have changed the way they approach diversity, from seeing it as a legal requirement to provide equal opportunities to seeing it as a strategic oopportunity to connect with customers and take advantage of the broadest possible pool of talent. 5 Smart business leaders such as IBM’s Ted CHAPTER 3 Communicating in a World of Diversity 65 FIGURE 3. 1 Languages of the World This map illustrates the incredible array of languages used around the world.Each dot represents the geographic center of the more than 6,900 languages tracked by the linguistic research firm SIL International. Even if all of your business communication takes place in English, you will interact with audiences who speak a vvariety of other native languages. Childs recognize the competitive advantages of a diverse workforce that offers a broader spectrum of viewpoints and ideas, helps companies understand and identify with diverse markets, and enables companies to benefit from a wider range of employee talents.As Renee Wingo of Virgin Mobile USA, a cell phone operator based in Warren, New Jersey, puts it, â€Å"You’re not going to create any magic as a manager unless you bring together people with diverse perspectives who aren’t miniversions of you. †6 Diversity is simply a fact of life for all companies. The United States has been a nation of immigrants from the beginning, and that trend continues today. The Western and Northern Europearns who made up the bulk of immigrants during the nation’s early years now share spa ce with people from across Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, and other parts of the world.By 2010 recent immigrants will account for half of all new U. S. workers. 7 Even the term minority, as it applies to nonwhite residents, makes less and less sense every year: In two states (California and New Mexico) and several dozen large Communication among people of diverse cultural backgrounds cities, Caucasian Americans no longer constitute a clear ma- and life experiences is not always easy, but doing it successfully jority. 8 Nor is this pattern of immigration unique to the United can create tremendous strategic advantages.States: Workers from Africa, Asia, and the Middle East are moving to Europe in search of new opportunities, while workers from India, the Philippines, and Southeast Asia contribute to the employment base of the Middle East. 9 However, you and your colleagues don’t need to be recent immigrants to constitute a diverse workforce. Differences in everything from age and gender to religion and ethnic heritage to geography and military experience enrich the workplace. Both immigration and workforce diversity create advantages—and challenges—for business communicators tthroughout the world. 6 PART 1 Understanding the Foundations of Business Communication The Challenges of Intercultural Communication A company’s cultural diversity affects how its business messages are conceived, composed, delivered, received, and interpreted. Culture influences everything about communication, including †¢ Language †¢ Nonverbal signals †¢ Word meaning †¢ Time and space issues †¢ Rules of human relationships Diversity affects how business messages are conceived, planned, sent, received, and interpreted in the workplace.Today’s increasingly diverse workforce encompasses a wide range of skills, traditions, backgrounds, experiences, outlooks, and attitudes toward work—all of which can affect employee behavior on t he job. Supervisors face the challenge of communicating with these diverse employees, motivating them, and fostering cooperation and harmony among them. Teams face the challenge of working together closely, and companies are challenged to coexist peacefully with business partners and with the community as a whole. The interaction of culture and communication is so pervasive that separating the two is virtually impossible.The way you communicate—from the language you speak and the nonverbal signals you send to the way you perceive other people—is influenced by the culture in which you were raised. The meaning of words, the significance of gestures, the importance of time and space, the rules of human relationships—these and many other aspects of communication are defined by culture. To a large degree, your culture influences the way you think, which naturally affects the way you communicate as both a sender and a receiver. 0 So you can see how intercultural commu nication is much more complicated than simply matching language between sender and receiver. It goes beyond mere words to beliefs, values, and emotions. Tthroughout this chapter, you’ll see numerous examples of how communication styles and habits vary from one culture to another. These examples are intended to illustrate the major themes of intercultural communication, not to give an exhaustive list of styles and habits of any particular culture.

“Dulce Et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen Essay

In the poem â€Å"Dulce Et Decorum Est†, by Wilfred Owen, Owen uses imagery and diction to convey the meaning of the poem. Throughout the poem, Owen paints visual pictures in the reader’s mind. His word choice also emphasizes what he is expressing in the poem. Diction and imagery are two literary devices that help the reader understand that they should feel sorrow and understand the intensity of war, the purpose of the poem. Owen puts a mental image in the reader’s mind, which is a picture of a war scene. The soldiers are trucking on â€Å"limped, blood shod† and through the treks. He is showing that the soldiers are injured and exhausted, which tells the reader they are at war. When Owen talks about the dream of the soldier plunging â€Å"at me, guttering, choking, drowning†, this paints a picture for the reader and sets a very intense mood because the soldier’s bad injury. Diction is used as well to convey the meaning of the poem. The soldiers are slouching on, â€Å"knock-kneed, coughing like hags, they cursed through sludge†. The reader wonders what is going on and sets the feeling of sorrow and sick feeling the reader should feel when reading Owen’s poem. When Owen explained the scene of the injured as â€Å"obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud, of vile, incurable sores of innocent tongues.† This makes the reader feel sorrow for the innocent soldiers and shows the awfulness of the war scene. Wilfred Owen, used word choice and mental pictures to set the mood for Dulce Et Decorum Est. Diction and imagery are two literary devices that can put purpose into words. As for Owen’s poem, the purpose was to make the reader understand the seriousness of war and sorrow for the soldiers.

Factors of Stress among International Students in University of South Essay

Factors of Stress among International Students in University of South - Essay Example The universities in Western countries like UK, Australia, USA or Canada are considered as a hub of providing state of the art facilities to its students and educate them in a manner that they become more competitive in the employment arena as compared to students seeking education in their local national universities (Poyrazil et al., 2011). This is because of the low standards followed by local national universities or macroeconomic factors that have a direct impact on educational institutions weakening the education system. For this reason, Western universities attract thousands of international students who are looking for sophisticated knowledge management mechanisms and technologically driven education delivery systems. The international students’ population in the USA, UK, and Australia has increased greatly in the last two decades due to strength in purchasing power in emerging economies across the globe (Yan & Berliner, 2011). The trend of growth or an increase in the number of enrolment of international students in foreign universities reflects that the number of students is likely to continue to grow in the coming years (Eustace, 2007). It is evident that international students complete their studies in foreign countries with ease however, they still they need to cope up with challenges such as language barriers, cultural differences, and financial obstacles etc. These factors contribute to the overall feeling of being lost or left out that international students face when they move to another country for seeking education. In addition to these factors, another major hurdle is the lack of confidence amongst the international students, which stems from the differences in social interaction norms followed by the local students and international students (Sandhu & Asrabadi, 1994). On the whole, these stressors might become so severe that they start to affect international students’ academic and personal lives, which in return affect their e fforts to become part of the new cultural settings that they are not familiar with. As a result, the happiness level of being in a foreign country and alone reduces which contributes to the reduction in the morale and results in sadness or disappointment (Yeh & Inose, 2003). Considering this background, the current research work focuses on understanding whether or not international students experience stress en route to completing their studies in foreign countries.

Describe three commonalities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Describe three commonalities - Essay Example The three sources portray professional educators as capable of influencing student behaviour and learning outcomes. Educators prepare students to become responsible people in the future. They empower them with skills such as effective communication and critical thinking (Conceptual Framework, 2015). Educators embrace the social needs of different students by showing respect to issues like culture. They prepare students to work in distinct settings. Educators should influence their students positively from both academic and personal perspectives (Professional Dispositions of Learners, 2015). Special educators create a positive impact on the lives of individuals with exceptionality by treating them fairly, helping them achieve academic excellence and implementing behaviour change disciplinary measures (Special Education Professional Ethical Principles and Practice Standards, 2010). Effective education professionals  exhibit integrity and ethical behaviour. Professional teachers are well educated and skilled. Additionally, they display a high level of commitment and compassion in their line of duty (Conceptual Framework, 2015). Professional behaviour towards students, colleagues and families amongst others is influenced by dispositions. Dispositions are the ethical standards and values that educators uphold, and they significantly influence various student learning processes including motivation and achievement (P. D.L, 2015). Professional ethical standards for special educators emphasize that educators display professional competence by exercising respect, integrity and commitment when serving individuals with exceptionalities (S.E.P.E. P.P.S, 2010). The named commonalities are important to teachers and students because they establish a foundation for teaching practises. They provide effective guidelines that when adhered to can result in academic excellence. The

Discussing incentives to conserve marine biodiversity conservation Essay

Discussing incentives to conserve marine biodiversity conservation within the framework of impure public goods - Essay Example It is important to note that their benefits can be affected when the government decides not to offer the conservation. (Maxwell) Ordinarilly, an externality is the effect of an economic activity felt by those not directly involved in the economic activity. Positive externalities are often described as spillover effects to suggest their effects are felt by consumers who were not directly intended by their producers. The impure public goods such marine biodiversity and other environmental amenities are not to be supplied privately because the provider cannot capture the benefits and therefore no one can be excluded, so free riding is possible. Clearly, some aspects of marine bear the characteristics of a public good. Marine contributes to global biodiversity and enhances the well being of the majority of people. (Bulte) Ordinarily, no one has the appropriate incentive to provide marine habitat or otherwise protect marine as they cannot capture the full benefits from the needed investments. Market failure occurs because the amount of a public good is underprovided, and thus marginal social benefits exceed marginal social costs. In this case, more of the public good should be provided, but it is forthcoming only if society subsidizes a private supplier, or provides it publicly. (Bulte) On the other hand, negative externalities that include the government regulations impose costs on society that extend beyond the cost of production as originally intended by the producer. A producer of a negative externality who does not have to worry about its full cost is likely to produce an excessive harmful amount of the product.Ordinarilly, regulations and fines may deter the production of negative externalities. But the effects of regulation may be limited under conditions such as where negative externalities are so pervasive they encourage free riding attitudes, where negative externalities are so pervasive their producers could

Save our city Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Save our city - Essay Example However, with continuous human interference with Venetian ecology, the city is now more prone to floods from high-rise tides. The utilization of mudflats for construction and diversion of rivers and other similar actions have disturbed the ecological balance of Venice with the Arabian Sea. This is the main reason for Venice getting floods during high tides and heavy rains. (Nosengo). It is the Italian name of the engineering solution for saving Venice. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi initiated this costly project and declared the working on it in December 2001. The project cost is around USD 2.6 billion and it is scheduled to complete in 2011, with the construction of hollow gates starting in 2006.The project being an engineering solution to save Venice from floods involves construction of 78 hollow metal gates, having the height of 20m with thickness of 5m. The placement of these gates is at three main inlets of this lagoon. (Nosengo). Many environmentalists have shown concerns about the project as they feel that even a few hours of closure of gates can cause tremendous disturbance to the ecosystem of this lagoon. Politicians have expressed fears that money meant for this project will be diverted elsewhere in the city. Deputy Mayor of Venice, Gianfranco Bettin has been the most forthright in his criticism of MOSE, saying that it is â€Å"expensive, hazardous and probably useless†. (Nosengo). The strong criticism to the technical feasibility of MOSE is from Paolo Antonio, who was born in Venice and works with Laboratory of Physical Geography in Meudon, France. His main concern relates to MOSE being developed keeping in mind the 1966 major floods, which are unlikely to occur for another 165 years. He says the project cannot offer result-oriented solution for smaller floods. His other concern relates to the rapid rise in water levels during the closure of gates. However, supporters of MOSE argue that 1966 can

Case10 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Case10 - Assignment Example Various marketing concepts such as the 4 P’s i.e. pricing, products, place and promotion shall be discussed in this report: It shall focus on how these concepts are presented in the article and how other external sources dwell with this issue. Consequently, the analysis shall focus on provision of a conclusion that basically describes the writer’s understanding of the lessons learned from the article as well as other external sources that delve on issues ascribed to the information indicated in the article. Additionally, the conclusion section will explicate various recommendations; specifically indicating way forward on challenges faced in marketing activities. The article begins by describing a scenario of a certain client, Mr. Richard Garber relates with car higher company, Hertz Car Hire Company. He is described as a loyal customer to the company for over a long period of time. However, he is currently re-thinking on whether to divert his loyalty to another company owing to the current challenges he is facing with Hertz. In addition, the article provides various reasons why the company is currently experiencing challenges with its clients. It asserts that many companies are currently facing operational challenges due to the economic recession that has affected many large business enterprises; hence reducing their overall level of profitability. It is apparent that the article is an economic situational analysis; providing various issues that may affect the overall performance of companies for instance: In the article, economic recession that has affected the success of many companies, is identified as the reason that has affected the relationship between Hertz Company and Mr. Garber. The article attributes this issue to the fact that the Hertz Company has laid-off many of its workers even those who facilitate

Imagine you are a columnist or have been contracted to write an Assignment

Imagine you are a columnist or have been contracted to write an opinion piece, for a quality publication such as The Economist o - Assignment Example A good example is what is being witnessed in Greece where the economy has been observed to decrease by 5% every year. Governments should adapt to the idea of spending to boost the economy and also concentrate on balancing the books as the private sector facilitates the economy rise. It is strange how the people who believe in austerity see this as an impossible move and believe that you can not spend when you got a debt. Keynes Theory The stimulus vs. austerity argument arises the debate about if the money supply should be increased or reduced. The difference between function one and function three views of money brings up a big debate. Also the creditors and debtors have a conflict of interest here. Creditors prefer the level three. They are more concerned with the store of value and want their money to increase value and be worth something when they are paid back. Debtors propose to earn the less money and pay back real terms. Multiplier The battle between austerity and stimulus ma inly bases around money as a vital factor that greatly determines there strength. Money functions are sub-divided into three which include: a medium of exchange, a unit of account and a measure store of value. These three functions bring out the difference between the stimulus and austerity. ... 10) Money also functions as a unit of account where it is basically used as a common unit for measuring the difference in value between two commodities or more. For example in barter trade economy, you can exchange two sheep for three goats whereas in the money economy you can value the goats for six shillings. Money functions as a unit of account in that it tells what things are worth. For example a sheep is worth three shillings and a goat at two shillings. The other function of money is as a store of value, in this sense, money is attributed by the fact that it cannot be spend immediately it is gained. The view of money as a physical medium of exchange improves the economy positively. An increase in physical exchanges increases the level of trade thus leads to quick economy growth. If money is perceived as a store of value then it will negatively contribute to the economy .The less the amount of money stored, the more valuable it becomes. Restriction on the amount of money in supp ly increases its value. Problems of Applying A Keynesian Stimulus Everyone would agree with the fact that we are facing an economic crisis. Some people believe that this situation is caused by the government giving promises it can not deliver in the long run and the best way to solve this remedy is by austerity. Whereas other people think that it is due to the private sector inability to create jobs and growth and prefer stimulus .The stimulus folks point to Europe to indicate that austerity has failed. This did not only cure economic problems but it was also rejected at the polls. On the other hand austerity switches blame to the United States and argue that stimulus was disguised. It is strange with

Developing Retail and Promotion Strategies Essay

Developing Retail and Promotion Strategies - Essay Example A regional shopping Center is expected to have high customer traffic and hence implementing a promotion strategy would help convince large numbers of people to purchase a product. The firm requires coming up with a mission statement that will help their customers understand why the product suits their needs. The location of the regional shopping center should also be strategic such that many customers have easy access to it (Rogers, 2001). Customers may decide to purchase commodities in a certain shop just because it closer to them even if other factors such as price are no favorable. A convincing mission statement will lure customers into purchasing a certain product over another. The shopping center should focus more on product organization in their shelves and stores. A customer may decide to purchase a commodity just because they saw it in the shelves. Product organization may also convince window shoppers on purchasing a product they saw(Voss & Seiders, 2003). It is therefore im portant to ensure that the products catch the eye of the target market. The shop may also use modern strategies such as internet marketing to convince them to purchase a product at a certain retail center. However the cost consideration of such a method should be well evaluated so that it does not affect the profit percentages. Direct marketing could also be very effective in a regional shopping center. The firm may decide to employ people in the shop who will talk to the customers and convince them to purchase a certain product. This method has an advantage over the others since there will be a direct response from the customers and hence adjusting to fit the market will be very easy for the manufacturer (Bhatia, 2008). A new restaurant will obviously be experiencing low numbers of customers and will require critical retail and promotion strategies in order to

HRM - Summary post Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

HRM - Summary post - Essay Example The L&D strategies need to be clear and must mention the learning outcomes whilst promoting the self-esteem of employees. Currently, my focus organization has an effective L&D strategy. Within their budget they have created opportunities of learning via classroom sessions, seminars and various job rotations so an employee fully understands and learns different aspects of his job and his role within the organization. As effective as it is, the mundane routine often leads the employees to be strayed. The continuous office routine incorporated with lengthy seminar and classroom session sometimes seem meaningless to the employees. Job rotations too are difficult to manage and incorporate. On the other hand learning from everyday activities or incidental learning must be incorporated in the strategy for a better training. Make the training fun so the employees wish to learn and excel. Providing incentives at the end of training session would optimize the employee’s performance. The employees must be sent on field for some practical knowledge and must be trained to implement these details when they return to the

Roosevelt vs. Wilson Essay Example for Free

Roosevelt vs. Wilson Essay The United States government has gone through many changes throughout the years since the first president. The presidential election of 1912 made a significant effect on how our country is ran in this day and age. Though they were bitter rivals from different parties, they infused the presidency with new powers and changed the nation in ways few other presidents have, before or since (Bowles, 2011). Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson debated a political state of affairs that still effects government and industry in our nation today. The issue at hand was trusts. On one hand, Theodore Roosevelt thought that trusts are inevitable. As he said in his 1910 New Nationalism speech, There can be no effective control of corporation while their political activity remains. To put an end it will be neither a short nor an easy task, but it can be done(Roosevelt, 1910). Woodrow Wilson had a fairly diverse view on how trusts react in our society. He believes that trusts are natural but not inevitable. On the other hand, Wilson states, in the eighth chapter of his book, New Freedom,† Big business is no doubt to a large extent necessary and natural. The development of business upon a great scale, upon a great scale of co-operation, is inevitable, and, let me add, is probably desirable. But that is a very different matter from the development of trusts, because the trusts have not grown. They have been artificially created; they have been put together, not by natural processes, but by the will, the deliberate planning will, of men who were more powerful than their neighbors in the business world, and who wished to make their power secure against competition†(Wilson, 1913). As you can see, these two men had very dissimilar views on the issue of trusts. Furthermore, New Freedom and New Nationalism can be compared because they share similar qualities. However, they can be contrasted because their ideas about how to run the country are diverse. Both state that putting personal needs above the need of the nation is immoral. Another parallel point New Nationalism and New Freedom share is that both candidates show common conclusion that without large corporations, there would be a smaller break between the rich and the poor. Also, without this differentiation between the rich and poor, our nation would be enhanced as a whole. New Nationalism recognized that monopolies and trusts are tolerable as long as they are being of service to the people. New Freedom said that the nation  should release all monopolies so that there would be less need for government interference. Wilson endorsed this because he believes that monopolies are shown to be protected by government and can fundamentally direct the administration because of all the money they bestow. In addition, in New Nationalism, a deliberation on the responsibility of government in Big Business is that there should be more power. Roosevelt explained that with more legislative control, there could still be trusts but they would be strictly monitored. New Freedom had a conflicting view on the subject. Wilson leaned more on if the nation eliminated its trusts there wouldn’t be a need for more governmental pressure on big businesses because there would be no big corporations. Moreover, the ideas Roosevelt and Wilson discussed are still significant in todays society. Although our nation has no real monopolies, some large companies seem to take over their industry in some way. An example would be McDonalds. McDonalds is one of the largest fast food chains in the nation. There is not a single person that has never eaten something from McDonalds. Another example is Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is the largest supercenter in the shopping chain. Just as it is with McDonalds, undoubtedly everyone has been to Wal-Mart at some point in their life. Finally, one of Teddy Roosevelt’s major accomplishments while in office is the Pure Food and Drug Act. This was an act for preventing the manufacture, sale, or transportation of adulterated or misbranded or poisonous or deleterious foods, drugs, medicines, and liquors, and for regulating traffic therein, and for other purposes (PFDA, 1906). One of Wilson’s greatest accomplishments was the Federal Reserve Act of 1913. This act created twelve â€Å"bankers banks†. These banks would hold the responsibility for making the interest and currency rates for the nation (Bowles, 2011). Wilson aspired to influence the ideas and intentions not only of Americans, but of the whole world. I have a passion for interpreting great thoughts to the world, he wrote to his wife in 1916. I should be complete if I could inspire a great movement of opinion . . . and so communicate the thought to the minds of the great mass of the people as to impel them to great political achievement (Chin, 2011). In conclusion, Roosevelt and Wilson were both very important parts of making our nation what it is today. They used  three main ways to shape our society. These are as follows; (1) public dramatizations and taking advantage of the power of the media through the reach and influence of journalists; (2) the education of the public, which was something that Wilson, as a former professor, believed was the critical factor in a successful political leader; and (3) the commitment to party leadership (Bowles, 2011). References Bowles, M. (2011). American history 1865–present: End of isolation. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Chin, C. C.(2011). The Visible Hand of Woodrow Wilson. Reviews in American History 39(1), 149-155. The Johns Hopkins University Press. Retrieved September 3, 2013, from Project MUSE database. Roosevelt, T. R. (1910, Aug. 31). The new nationalism. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/primary-resources/tr-nationalism/ United States. Pure Food and Drug Act (1906). United States Statutes at Large (59th Cong., Sess. I, Chp. 3915, p. 768-772; cited as 34 U.S. Stats. 768) In: History of Medicine Division. Medicine in the Americas: Historical Works [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine (US); 2004-. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK22116/ Wilson, W. (1913). What is progress?. In The new freedom: A call for the emancipation of the generous energies of a people (Chapter II). New York: Doubleday, Page Company. R etrieved from http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14811/14811-h/14811-h.htm#II

Impact Of SMEs On Economic Development

Impact Of SMEs On Economic Development CHAPTER 4 Small businesses contribute substantially to two fundamentals of poverty reduction job creation and economic growth (The World Bank Group). In the previous chapter we examined a complete picture of MA in the theory of banking and at offering economic evaluation and strategic analyses of the process, also high lighting the performance of commercial banks in post consolidation period in Nigeria. It then viewed the benefits, consequences and limitations of MA and concluded with recent estimates of the effects of bank consolidation on Small Business Lending. In this chapter we shall be looking at the roles of SMEs, its benefits and impacts on the economic development. We shall also be looking at how SME get funded and the main sources of cash. Finally we will compare this credit availability to SMEs before consolidation and after consolidation in the Nigerian banking sector 4.0 Introduction Small enterprises are the seeds of the private sector, and also the source of innovation and diversification. They supply larger companies and develop their own activities and product lines. When they grow, they provide employment and tax revenues. Small and medium-sized enterprises can be the motors of economic growth. In most African countries, however, the business environment is not conducive to enterprise development ( Bercy, 2005 ). Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs) are important for successful economic growth and social development. SMEs, properly supported, foster Entrepreneurship a proven pre-requisite for national economic success. Public and private policy support of SMEs is most effective when SMEs are part of the formal sector. One key objective therefore is to encourage migration of SMEs from informal to formal sector (Oyekanmi, 2006) Nigerian SMEs in informal sector are beyond the reach/help of public or private policy Policies do not provide sufficient support Difficult access to finance To use SMEs to stimulate economic growth and encourage businesses requires SMEs to move from informal sector to formal sector. 4.1 Definition of SMEs SME is an acronym for small and medium enterprise. It is a term that is used in a different way in different country and used differently even within the same industries. In the United States for instant SMEs can be used to express firms from small office home office to even large company. In Europe SMEs is used to refer to a business firm or company that has fifty to two hundred and fifty employees with an annual turnover of seven to forty million euro. Yet these SMEs must have a total asset less than twenty-seven million euro. In Canada, the industry uses the term SMEs as a reference to any company that has less than five hundred employees while categorizing company with employees above this number as large business. The definition of SMEs is country specific which is measured on size and level of development. In Nigeria SMEs are the moral fibres of the economy, a large percentage of businesses in Nigeria employ less than one hundred employees (Oyekunmi, 2006). This segment provides fifty percent of employment and fifty percent of the total industrial output. This can be said that most of the developing nations, its private economy comprises totally of SMEs and seen as the only reasonable employment opportunity for communities ( Oyekunmi, 2006) 4.2 Impact of SMEs on Economic Development Nowadays, the importance of SMEs has been recognised worldwide and their immense involvement to economic growth, community organisation, employment, catalysts of growth, innovation and skills and development. SMEs account for over 95% of enterprise and 60%-70% of employment, and generate a large share of new jobs in Organisation for economic Co-operation and development economies. (OECD Africa). Since the dawn of industrial changes and globalisation the importance and contribution of small firms is enhance as the economies of scale reduces. Nevertheless a lot of the conventional problems SMEs faces have also become more acute in this global environment. Such problems as lack of funding or credit availability, problems in utilization of technology, constrained managerial capabilities, regulatory weight down and low yield. Since every economy stands to gain from SMEs precise strength and weakness, policy framework and the role of government must evolve for these enterprises to flourish , adapt to new demands and strains and to reap the benefit of globalisation. For this reason encouraging entrepreneurship is high on the agenda of governments in OECD member countries, developed and developing economies. The importance of entrepreneurship stands out in this time of innovative change, and fostering a climate to help the dynamism in firm creation is considered fundamental worldwide.( OECD African Economic Outlook ,2009) 4.3 Role of SMEs to Economy Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) occupy a place of pride in virtually every country or state. Because of their significant roles in the development and growth of various economies, they have been referred to as the engine of growth and the vehicle for socio- economic change of any country. SMEs are seen as an authentic medium for the realization of national economic objectives of poverty alleviation and employment generation at low investment cost. Another benefit of SMEs includes access to the infrastructural facilities made available by the very existence on these enterprises. Also the spur of economic activities through supplies of items produced, distribution process stemming from rural to urban centre, enhances the standard of living of the employees and their families as well as those who directly and indirectly related with them ( Onuorah, 2010). The benefits of SMEs are innumerable and cannot be exaggerated. These benefits are summarized below. Economy contribution in the provision of outputs in form of goods and services. Generation of employment involves creation of jobs at relatively low capital cost. And the employment opportunities provided reduces village to city (rural-urban) migration and allows for even development Utilization of local resources: This promotes the use of local raw materials requiring simple technology SMEs help to reduce income disparity by developing a group of both skilled and semi-skilled workers as a basis for expansion Income generation: SMEs constitute major avenues for income generation and participation in economic activities in the lower income and rural brackets of developing societies especially in agriculture, trading and services. Stiglitz and Weis (1981) observe that small and medium scale firms with opportunities to invest in positive net present value projects may be blocked from doing so because of adverse selection and moral hazard problems. This selection problem occurs when providers of funds cannot validate the firms access to quality projects. While the hazard problems is related with the possibility of SMEs diverting funds to alternative projects or taking more risks than they can afford to. (Ogujiuba, Ohuche, Adenuga, 2004). Since SMEs ordinarily do not have access to public funds through the capital market, they obviously have to depend on banks for funding. The reliance on banks makes them even more vulnerable for the simple reason that crisis in the financial system can have a great impact to credit supply to SMEs, thus, SMEs are subject to funding problems in equilibrium and these problems are worsening during periods of financial instability. Berger and Udell (2001) further note that shocks to the economic environment in which both banks and SMEs exist can significantly affect the willingness and capability of banks to lend to small and medium scale firms. Government worldwide have realised the importance of SMEs and have encouraged them by originating and creating policies that are favourable to encourage, support and make funding accessible. To encourage the developments in small and medium enterprise are a plus as the role SMEs plays in economic development. (Oladele, 2009). 4.4 SMEs Promotion in Nigerian The Nigerian government has supported the SMEs development programs since its independence, yet very few of which have yielded impressive results. Now the challenge is to recognise the factors that influence their performance and development as well as the implications of these factors for policy. Ever since the attainment of independence in Nigeria, every known regime recognizes the importance of promoting SMEs as the basis of economic growth. As a result, several micro lending institutions were established to enhance the development of SMEs. Unfortunately, records indicate that the performance of SMEs in Nigeria has not justified the establishment of this overabundance of micro-credit institutions. Odedokun (1981) notes that in spite of the quantum of credit made available to the SME manufacturing sector; the contribution of the index of manufacturing to GDP was only 7 percent between 1970 and 1979. Source: CBN Annual Report, 2008 The major credit programs and specialized credit delivery institutions implemented to promote SMEs in Nigeria between the year 1971 to 1997 includes: The small scale industries 1971, agricultural credit guarantee scheme (ACGSF)of 1973, the Nigerian Agricultural and Co-operative Bank of 1973, the Nigerian bank for Commerce and Industry of 1973, the small and medium scale enterprises loan scheme 1 2 of 1992, National Economic Reconstruction Fund of 1994 and The Family Economic Advancement Program of 1997.( Oyekunmi, 2006). Others includes micro credit institutions include the Nigerian Bank for Commerce and Industry (NBCI), National Economic Reconstruction Fund (Nerfund), the Peoples Bank of Nigeria (PBN), the Community Banks (CB), and the Nigerian Export and Import Bank (NEXIM), and the liberalization of the banking sector. (Ogujiuba, Ohuche, Adenuga, 2004). In addition there has been an entrepreneurship development centres in three zones since 2008, which is has trained nine thousand people and is expected to create about five hundred and twenty-five thousand jobs in three to five years. Most of these programmes failed due to poor administration in loan processing and credit procedure, poor monitoring techniques and the abuse of the scheme attributed to corruption (Oyekunmi, 2006). CBN initiated together with the Bankers Committee In 1999, an interventionist strategy called the Small and Medium Industries Equity Investment Scheme (SMIEIS). This scheme requires banks to set aside 10 percent of their profit before tax to fund SMEs in an equity participation framework. (Ogujiuba, 2004). SMIEIS requires all banks in Nigeria to set aside 10% of their PBT for equity investment in SMEs (revised to 5% from end 2006) ( Oyekunmi, 2006) According to Mambula (1997), since its independence, the small business development programs have generally yielded poor results, despite the immense amount of money invested by the Nigerian government. But this can be associated to the fact that these funds hardly reached the SMEs business because funds got lost to bureaucratic bottle neck and end up in accounts of public office holders. It has however been worrisome that despite the incentives, policies, programmes and support aimed at revamping the SMEs, they have performed rather below expectation in Nigeria. 4.5 Funding opportunity for SMEs To assist SME development, priority should be given to financial reforms and appropriate financing. Effective financing of SMEs should include regulatory reform the creation of a friendly business environment for doing business, the extension of guarantees to local banks to entice them to lend in local currency (e.g. USAID Development Credit Program), tax incentives for rewarding companies that agree to have their financial statements audited, the creation of equity funds suitable for SMEs, financial incentives for partnerships, etc. (Bercy, 2005). SMEs being very unique and important and because of their relative small size can be negatively affected by changes in the financial institution especially banks during crisis period. The credit availability to SMEs is very important and significant not only from a theoretical point of view but also for policy purposes. In many countries different innovation have enthused extensive restructuring in the financial sector. Commercial banks have engaged in mergers and acquisitions, which has lead to the vanishing of many small credit institutions and appearance of complex financial conglomerates. Merger has open previously isolated markets due to the lifting of geographical barriers hence reducing market segmentation. SMEs can be funded in two major ways; internal finance, concerned with getting money from personal savings and from friends and relatives and external finance when the company grows and begins to expand. External financing is sourced from most financial institutions. There are two notable variants of external finance and these include debt financing and equity financing. Dept financing engages interest bearing instruments and are secured by asset collateral and have term structured into it. This can be long termed or short termed. Examples of dept finance include loans, overdrafts, leasing and hire purchase arrangement and letters of credit. Equity financing allows the banker or investor the right of ownership in the business. This as such may not require collateral since the equity participant will be part of the management of the business. ( Ogujiuba et all, 2004). We have seen the two approaches to overcome financial gap to SMEs. This approach has been further encouraged by two approaches. The first has been to broaden the collateral based approach by encouraging bank lenders to finance SMEs with insufficient collateral. The second approach is to broaden the viability based approach since its concerned with the business itself and the aim has been to provide an increase return in the general business, create a favourable environment and reduce risk. Viability based financing is especially associated with venture capital. This often entails a detailed review and assistance with the business plan. A common aim or feature of the viability based approach is the provision of appropriate finance that is tailored to the cash flows of the SME. (Berger and Udell, 2005). Levy in 1993 reported that smaller enterprises have limited access to financial resources compare to larger organisations and he discussed the impact of his findings in economic growth. SMEs funding is supplied through the business financial market in the following Retained Profit The Financial Market The use of banks. Government monetary policy 4.5.1 Retained Profit In the course of running a business profits are made, when these profits are kept for future use to expand the business it is referred to as retained profit. This profit is there for use to help buy new machinery, vehicle, computer etc to improve the business and keeps it going. On the other hand the retain earnings can be used to expand the business by diversification. And it can also be kept for a rainy day. 4.5.2 Financial Market The financial Market is a system that allows buying and selling of financial securities and instruments. It is a centre where bonds and stock are traded, and allows people to buy or sell commodities such as precious metals or agricultural good and other items of value at low transaction costs. Both general markets (where many commodities are traded) and specialized markets (where only one commodity is traded) exist. In finance, financial markets facilitate: The raising of capital (in the capital markets) The transfer of risk (in the derivatives markets) International trade (in the currency markets) The financial market matches those who want to buy with those who want to see. Money market is one component of the financial market for asset involved in short term borrowing and lending usually not exceeding one year. Trades in the money market involve T-bills, Commercial Papers (CP), bankers acceptance, Certificate of Deposits (CD) and both mortgage and asset backed securities. 4.5.3 Banks The systems of banking in Africa are not properly adapted to lending to SMEs with some exceptions. This makes financing a more difficult approach, hence making financing more flexible would be a welcoming help (Bercy, 2005). All over the world the importance of promoting SMEs as a channel of growth and industrialization has been recognized. One of the vital roles of the banks is to devise a way to creating loan package and providing loans to small business that are otherwise not properly informed. (Berger, Klapper and Udell 2001). Conversely credit provision to small borrowers may be affected by a number of factors. Bank consolidation is one of the major factor affecting credit to small borrowers. The creation of mega bank suggests that large institution devote less of their asset proportion to lending to small business than smaller less complex institution. ( Emeni and Okafor, 2008) .These mega banks may be oriented towards transaction lending and providing capital markets services to large corporate clients. These institutions often have their headquarters in business metropolis far away city centre that are a great distant from small borrower. Ogujiuba, Ohuche and Adenuga, 2004) Banks in Nigeria although reported to being highly liquid and wanting to make loans available, they are usually put off by the uncertain nature of SMEs. And since these banks do not provide the necessary funds required to start a business, run the business and keeps it going, SMEs tend to rely on personal assets for their working capital. This reliance on personal funds makes it very difficult to operate at optimum capacity, increase output and make sales. It also limits investment to develop, expand operation or even improve technology. This risk on bank not lending is attributed to lack of information on SMEs true situation in terms of finance and their performance ability to repay loans both principal and interest. And since the judicial system is not reliable, banks cannot enforce contracts, hence making business environment generally risk prone and uncertain.(Ogujiuba, Ohuche and Adenuga, 2004) The table below show the proportion of loans given to SMEs by commercial banks. It gives a brief summary for six years from 2000- 2005 of the ratio of loans given to SMEs to the total credit available to commercial banks in Nigeria. From this table it can be deduce that percentage of loans made available to SMEs is very low and over the years it reduces even more to a more trivial proportion. Table 4.1 Ratio of Loans to SMEs to Commercial Banks Total Credit YEAR Loan to SMEs (=N=M) Commercial Bank Total Credit (=N=M) Ratio of Loan to Total Credit (%) 2000 44,542.3 508,302.2 9.7 2001 52,428.4 796,164.8 6.6 2002 82,368.4 954,628.8 8.6 2003 90,176.5 1,210,033.1 7.5 2004 54,981.2 1,519,242.7 3.6 2005 50,672.6 1,899,346.4 2.7 Source: Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin Volume 16, 2005 4.5.4 Government policy (New Monetary Policy) The Nigeria Government in a bid to encourage small and medium scale enterprises has introduced several monetary policies. This has been mentioned in the previous chapters. The success of this strategy is based on its proper implementation, co-ordination and supervision. These monetary policies includes: The Small and Medium Enterprise Equity Investment Scheme (SMEEIS), the Small and Medium Enterprises Credit Guarantee Scheme (SMECGS) and the Microfinance Banks and Micro Credit Fund. 4.5.4.1 Small and Medium Enterprises Equity Investment Scheme (SMEEIS) The Small and Medium Enterprises Equity Investment Scheme is a voluntary initiative of the Bankers Committee in agreement with CBN, approved IN 1999. It was aimed at mitigating the risk-averse behaviour of banks. The scheme was a responds by the federal government to the promotion of small and medium enterprises as a tool of industrialization, poverty alleviation and job creation or employments. This scheme required all commercial banks in Nigeria to set aside annually ten percent of their profit before tax (PBT) for promotion of small and medium enterprises and equity investments. This was the banks own contribution in responds to the federal governments efforts in economic growth. This takes care of the burden of all financial charges such interest under normal bank lending. In addition the scheme provides financial, advisory, technical and managerial support from the banking industry. ( Soludo, 2005). Activities approved for funding under the scheme includes manufacturing, constru ction, Information technology, education, tourism and services. The funds set aside by banks under the scheme increased from N13.1 billion in 2002 to N41.4 billion in 2005. However, actual investments grew much slower from N2.2 billion in 2002 to N12.1 billion in 2005, representing only 29.1 per cent of the funds set aside. This further increased to N21billion in 2007 representing a further 21.5 per cent of funds set aside. (CBN Statistical Bulletin, 2008) Figure 4.2 Banks Investment in SMEs through SMEEIS Source: CBN Statistical Bulletin, 2008 Table 4.1 SME Reserve for Small and Medium Scale Industry of Top Five Commercial Banks in Nigeria. (NM) Zenith First Bank UBA Union Bank Intercontinental 2009 3,729,204 11,193,000 2008 3,729,204 9,439,000 2,635,000 3,868,498 2007 3,729,204 7,916,000 2,635,000 5,537,000 3,868,498 2006 3,729,204 6,998,000 2,635,000 4,931,000 2,387,122 2005 2,580,324 1,379,000 2,050,000 4,429,000 1,527,532 2004 1,224,242 1,379,000 1,426,000 3,491,000 856,935 2003 1,224,242 1,379,000 865,000 2,280,000 856,935 Source: Annual Reports of the Various Banks Various studies have pointed out that inadequate data on SMEs business activities and the vague scope of economic activities are some of the major issues constraining disbursement of funds under the scheme. Two very important policy actions were than taken by the Bankers Committee in 2005, to restructure the scheme so it could take proper effect. The first policy action was to implement the funding of all business activities with the exception of general commerce and financial services under this scheme. It was restructured to contain and provide for non-industrial enterprises so that other sectors of the economy such as agriculture, housing, transport and utilities can be funded under this scheme. The name of the scheme was, therefore, changed to Small and Medium Enterprises Equity Investment Scheme (SMEEIS), to reflect the expanded focus. The Bankers Committee also embarked setting the guidelines for the management of withdrawn un-invested funds during the year. The second policy a ction was to set the limit of banks equity investment in a single enterprise. This was increased from N200 million to N500 million, thus accommodating the real medium sized industries that constitute the missing middle in Nigerias industrial structure. These two policies had an instantaneous impact on the scheme as investment rose by 29.4 per cent in 2005 to N12.1 billion. The cumulative amount set aside by the banks at end- December 2005 stood at N41.4 billion, compared with N28.8 billion at the end of the preceding year 2004. The final benefit of this policy is expected to manifest fully from 2006, following the success on bank consolidation exercise in 2005. (CBN Annual Report, 2005). 4.5.4.2 Small and Medium Enterprises Credit Guarantee Scheme (SMECGS) CBN established the Small and Medium Enterprises Credit Guarantee Scheme (SMECGS). This scheme was set up in a bid to ease the rigid nature of the credit market in Nigeria, to also augment credit to the real sector and complement its 500 billion Naira Power/Manufacturing facility; the Management of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) approved the establishment of a N200 billion Small and Medium Enterprises Credit Guarantee Scheme (SMECGS), to promoting access to credit to manufacturers and SMEs in Nigeria. It is funded one percent and managed by CBN. The aim ideas behind this scheme is to fast track the development of SMEs and the manufacturing sectors in Nigeria as a whole by providing guarantees, creating an atmosphere favourable for industrialization, increasing the accessibility of credit and generate employment. ( Soludo, 2006) 4.5.4.3 Microfinance Banks and Micro Credit Fund The Microfinance Policy Regulatory and Supervisory framework was a major policy initiative of the Bank in 2005 after consolidation of banks. Microfinance Banks and Micro Credit Fund was a replacement to community banks with a deadline to microfinance bank latest December 2007. The policy, among others, addresses the problem of lack of access to credit by entrepreneurs who do not have access to regular banks; strengthens the weak capacity of such entrepreneurs, and raises the capital base of microfinance institutions. The key elements of this framework was to set aside not less than one percent of the annual budget by state governments and local government for on lending through the microfinance banks, in addition to endorse and authorise the management of microfinance banks, establishment of the micro credit funds and introduce deposit insurance for micro finance banks to protect depositors funds. Problems associated with Credit availability for SMEs According to Cork and Nisxon, (2000) poor management and accounting practices have hampered the ability of smaller enterprises to raise finance. Owning to the nature of small business and the personal lifestyle of individual owners, goes a long way to affect operations and sustainability of the business. As a consequence of the ownership structure, some of these businesses are unstable and may not guarantee returns in the long run. However, there is reason to hope because according to Liedholm et al. (1994), a large number of small enterprises fail because of non-financial reasons. Remmers et al. (1974) reported the debt/total assets ratio to be independent of firm size while Peterson and Schulman (1987) reported that debt/total assets ratio to first rise and then fall with size of firm. Whatever sides you choose to take, the granting of loans to SMEs depends solely on the decision of the loan granting institution. And this choice is also depended on size of the balance sheet of the SMEs. The general problems associated with credit availability for SMEs everywhere is summarized below. Bad Credit History An adverse borrowing history of SMEs particularly if it is involving a sister organization will discourage the lender. The logical presumption is that if you do not have a good credit history then that is indicative of a personality pattern which means that in the future you will face the same problems as you are trying to clear you refinancing initiative. The bank is then well advised to stay away from you or at the very most offer you some very stringent terms for borrowing. Poor business plans Most SMEs applying for loans do not present convincing feasibility studies or attractive business plans. They are therefore regarded as high-risk ventures. Lack of Collateral Thirdly, even those SMEs with business plans not backed by adequate collateral. The lack of adequate collateral would be unacceptable risk for the lender. As banks cannot afford to take any chances of non-repayment of loans, they insist on these collateral requirements being met. In as much as they have nothing to fall back on should you default on your loan repayment obligations? Good financial management requires that they do not accept a refinancing initiative until they are sure that you are more than capable of covering the full loan if circumstances demand it. Collateral is the final reserve to meet this criteria and if it is missing, then the decision is likely to be negative. The impact of regulatory and monetary factors on bank loan The result is that monetary policy effects on bank lending depend on the capital adequacy of the banking sector; lending by banks with low capital has a delayed and then amplified reaction to interest rate shocks, relative to well-capitalized banks. Other implications are that bank capital affects lending even when the regulatory constraint is not momentarily binding, and that shocks to bank profits, such as loan defaults, can have a persistent impact on lending. Financial crisis Again bank financial distresses may also be an important determinant of credit availability during periods of credit crunch and accompanying financial crises. However, there are very few small firms that will satisfy the rigorous condition set by the traditional feasibility appraisal model, which is often designed for both small and big firms. While some aspects of the criteria of the feasibility model are met by some small firms, others are not met at all, therefore for banks to lend , they need to develop lending rules that accommodate the peculiar characteristics both for the SMEs and their owners. Other reasons In addition, many SMEs do not hold deposit accounts in the formal banking sector, which the banks require from loan applicants. Another reason SMEs were not given any concessions in terms of loan conditions was that in Nigeria no law exists to protect bankers against default. Yet another reason banks resist loans to SMEs is the unwillingness of owner/managers to acquire formal training. Such training is useful in providing added expertise and competence in a chosen field of business and in improving chances of obtaining loans.( Mambula, 2002) THE END .